A long history of depression and rehab stints — Benjamin Keough's autopsy report and the difficult months beforehand have shed new light on his shocking death.
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00:00A long history of depression and rehabstance, Benjamin Keough's autopsy report and the
00:05difficult months beforehand have shed new light on his shocking death.
00:10Lisa Marie Presley's son, Benjamin Keough, died by suicide on July 12, 2020, at 27 years old.
00:17About a week after his death, a preliminary autopsy report confirmed that Benjamin died
00:22from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. A few months later, further details from his autopsy
00:27showed how heartbreaking Benjamin's condition had been. In October 2020,
00:31the U.S. Sun published the autopsy report findings, which said Benjamin had a history
00:36of depression and that there was alcohol and cocaine in his system at the time of his death.
00:40Reportedly, he held a birthday party for his girlfriend the night he died and had locked
00:45himself in the bathroom after the couple seemingly had an argument, as shown on surveillance footage.
00:50Months before his death, Benjamin had struggled with a major depression,
00:53which led to him spending long periods of isolation in his bedroom. The report added
00:58that Benjamin had been in rehab on multiple occasions and had attempted suicide about
01:02six months before his death. On July 27, 2020, the U.S. Sun reported that Lisa Marie and Riley
01:09had held a private funeral service for Benjamin. However, one detail of the funeral stood out.
01:14A source told the outlet,
01:16"[Ben was placed in an open casket in a designer suit,
01:19which shocked some of the guests considering how he died.]
01:22But there were more unusual ways the family mourned Benjamin. Following his death,
01:26Benjamin was kept at home on dry ice for weeks in a room that was set to 55 degrees.
01:31Lisa Marie wrote in her posthumous memoir, From Here to the Great Unknown,
01:35"'There is no law in the state of California that you have to bury someone immediately.
01:39I got so used to him, caring for him and keeping him there.'"
01:42While the U.S. Sun reported that the family had a funeral the same month Benjamin died,
01:46it was two months before they buried him. The experience with her brother's passing
01:51seemed to impact Riley's relationship with death. Less than a year after Benjamin's suicide,
01:56the actress revealed she was training to become a death doula. She also opened up
02:00about her grief following the death of her brother. Only days after his suicide,
02:04she uploaded a carousel of photos with her brother to Instagram. The following year,
02:08on the anniversary of Benjamin's passing, she uploaded a carousel of throwback snaps
02:13from their childhood. She wrote in the touching caption,
02:16"'Today has been a year without you, baby brother. I miss you endlessly every day.'"
02:20"'He was so smart, so funny, um, such a light.'"
02:25Of course, Riley was not the only one in the family suffering from intense grief.
02:29Lisa Marie's death in January 2023 was officially listed as a bowel obstruction
02:34caused by weight loss surgery, but Riley believed it went beyond her medical condition.
02:39She told People in September 2024,
02:41"'My mom tried her best to find strength for me and my younger sisters after Ben died,
02:46but we knew how much pain she was in. My mom physically died from the after-effects
02:50of her surgery, but we all knew she died of a broken heart.'"
02:53After his mom's death, Benjamin's grave in Graceland was moved so that Lisa Marie
02:57could be buried close to her son and her father, Elvis Presley.
03:01If you or anyone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide
03:06Prevention Lifeline by dialing 988 or by calling 1-800-273-TALK or 8255.